The thing about sprinters....

Watching the first stage of the Giro on Versus Sunday reminds me of something.....You know, the thing about Robbie and the others is that sure, they are great sprinters.

But the part that goes without much notice is the fact that they are good enough to hang through all those miles BEFORE the sprint. I mean, that stage was what, 126 miles? How tough is it to hang in the main peloton for all those miles....pick your way through toward the end....have your leadout guys pump up the pace to just below crazy....then still have enough juice to pull off those sprints.

And my point is that ya gotta GET there first. I mean, that's like a hundred miles at what, mid to upper 20's mph....

1. they're pros, that's what they get paid to do.

2. they're sprinters, but don't confuse them for the typical US crit racer sprinter, 'roid rage and all. these guys can actually climb, and climb well.

i remember davis phinney winning a mountain stage at the killngton stage race in '92, or '93. when he was asked how a sprinter could win a mountain stage, he replied (something to the effect of) 'as a european pro, you have to be able to climb, besides, these mountains are hills compared to what you get in europe'.

Not as hard as you think. Last year in the TdF coverage they had real time readouts of power outputs. I was surprised to see how low the power output was for the wheel suckers in the peloton even when the pace was being whipped up at the front.

Originally Posted by Hipcycler

...pick your way through toward the end

Also not that hard if you have a strong team to create the space for you. If your team isn't that good, then you need to be on your toes and put in some real work!

Originally Posted by Hipcycler

....have your leadout guys pump up the pace to just below crazy

That's what you pay them for.

Originally Posted by Hipcycler

....then still have enough juice to pull off those sprints.

DING! That is where the $'s are. At least some of them.

I'm the world's forgotten boy. The one who's searchin', searchin' to destroy.

The sorting out in the last 5-20K is almost always the most interesting part. First the peloton has to catch the breakaway, then reel back the opportunistic attacks, then get all the GC contenders to the front and out of trouble, then charge into town and start the big leadout.

The sprint itself is usually pretty cool too, but a lot of the skill is getting there. Even picking the wrong line on the last corner can lose a rider quite a few places.

Watching the first stage of the Giro on Versus Sunday reminds me of something.....You know, the thing about Robbie and the others is that sure, they are great sprinters.

But the part that goes without much notice is the fact that they are good enough to hang through all those miles BEFORE the sprint. I mean, that stage was what, 126 miles? How tough is it to hang in the main peloton for all those miles....pick your way through toward the end....have your leadout guys pump up the pace to just below crazy....then still have enough juice to pull off those sprints.

Incredible.

So without climbing, sprinters would always win pro races I guess.

It is impressive and one of many great aspects of cycling that keep me wanting more.

Especially when McEwen manages to find his way through a heaving bunch sprint. That dude I swear has quantum mechanical properties that enable him to tunnel through impossible barriers.

Dunno if you guys get the same commentary as we do for the tdf, but when Phil Liggett gets worked up he says "And here comes Robbie McEwan as he takes off his Harry Potter cloak of invisibility"... Or words to that effect.

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These guys wouldn't stand a chance against track sprinters. And track sprinters wouldn't stand a chance in a 200km race with or without climbing.

Track sprinters are a pretty specialized bunch, though some of them do make the transition to endurance. Nothstein made some transition to endurance toward the end of his racing career, and Travis Smith (canadian sprinter) came from a triathlon background. They're starting to come from BMX now.
Track endurance riders-- pursuiters and points racers, are more like road sprinters. They have a lot of endurance and can maintain a *really* high output at high cadence for several minutes, sometimes with an extra burst at the end.

Dunno if you guys get the same commentary as we do for the tdf, but when Phil Liggett gets worked up he says "And here comes Robbie McEwan as he takes off his Harry Potter cloak of invisibility"... Or words to that effect.

Is that a local Aussie channel or Versus? I miss Phil and Paul... The commentary on Eurosport is pretty boring, although Sean Kelly does add some invaluable knowledge.

By the way - pointless trivia - Phil Liggett's house is on one of my training routes.

Is that a local Aussie channel or Versus? I miss Phil and Paul... The commentary on Eurosport is pretty boring, although Sean Kelly does add some invaluable knowledge.

It says a lot about the Giro commentary on Eurosport that Kelly brings the most to the party. He's got plenty of insights, but he's also got the most boring, stilted voice. At least they haven't used David Duffield, who's like a real-life Alan Partridge. Did you watch the Tirreno Adriatico? Someone would be making a break and Duffield would be talking about what he had for dinner last night.

By the way - pointless trivia - Phil Liggett's house is on one of my training routes.

--Not pointless at all. Ever see him? If you ever bump into him, have him autograph something "To Hip" for me and sent it to me! I'm not sure why, but there's just something comforting about hearing his voice on my TV....I love the guy.

By the way - pointless trivia - Phil Liggett's house is on one of my training routes.

--Not pointless at all. Ever see him? If you ever bump into him, have him autograph something "To Hip" for me and sent it to me! I'm not sure why, but there's just something comforting about hearing his voice on my TV...I love the guy.